Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1887-07-29
Mr.. AND MRS. BOWSES.

mentS OF accounts from MS pocket
with great gravity of demeanor aud
spreading them out upon the CEN
tre.table, he said:
"NIrs. BOwser, do you see these p
81 do"
"Do you know what they are y
"Why, they are the monthly ac-
counts from the grOcer's."
"Oh, they are Well, [ should
say SOL Do you know what this
family has devoured, wasted and
given to the Polacks in the last
month ~
81 know that we have been very
economical"
"Do you! The grand footing is
SG4, Mrs. Bowser-Over Sl5 per
week for family of four, and one
OF them a baby and the other a
hired girl with the dyspepsia! [
am no miser, but l pronounce this
an outrage"
"But | haven't ordered anything
extra, and I've tried to be very
careful and buy close"
"Mrs. Bowser, its your poor buy
ing and poor management. You
don't know anything more about
running a house than do of boss
ing a steamboat. Either that or
else grocers are swindling me, and
| won't stand it. Hereafter | shall
do all the buying"
gave the cook orders to tell him
what she wanted, and next morn
ing Mr.. Bowser entered upon his
new duties. The first purchase he
made was a busbel of potatoes from
peddler in front of the house.
He gave S1.10 and told the man
where to carry them. When he
came home to dinner the cook had
to tell him:
81 put that bushel of potatoes
into three pecks, and then cut up
the whole lot to get good ones
enough for dinner"
The first thing that came up from
the grocery was consignment OF
ten cans of pumpkins. This was
followed by fifty pounds of eyapo.
rated apples and 100 dozen clothes
pins. AS nothing farther appeared
the cook boiled some potatoes, made
a pumpkin pie and stewed some of
the apples. When he went down
TO dinner Mr.. BOwser looked around
in ast0nlShment.
"What does this mean ?" he fin
ally demanded.
"Why, it's all you sent"
He couldn't galnsay that, and by
and by he explained that he had
saved fully a dollar and a half on
his purchases by buying in such
quantities.
"You paid ten cents per can tor
pumpkin, while got the lot for
seven,n he went on. "Thirty cents
isn't so very much, but it is as good
to me as to the grocer"
ayes, but l bought about one
can a month. You have enough
here to last us three years"
"WeIl, l saved forty cents on the
apples?" he protested.
awe have used just two pounds
in the last six months, Mr.. Bowser,
At that rate you have laid in sup
ply for two years"
There was a look of terror in his
eyes. and he dared not proceed to
clothes.pins nor say word about
the potatoes.
| went down with him next morn
ing, and as we halted in front of
the grocery he called out:
"Say, Green, a roast for dinner
two quarts of strawberries-and
yum-say, head of cabbage"
When we had driven away he
said to me:
ave we're just eleven seconds in
front of that grocery. You'd come
down here and fool away half an
hour to give the same order
You've got to ba right up and down
to business with these fellows
When we came down to dinner
we had roast pork and Strawberries
and boiled cabbage.
81 want TO know what this
meansw exclaimed Mr.. Bowser, as
he showed back.
"This is what you ordered, dear
and it didn't take but eleven sec
onds. You didn't specify the sort
of roast you wanted, and you didn't
tell the cook whether you wanted
the cabbage boiled, fried or baked
You are running the kitchen now
you know
lie swallowed a few mOuthinls
tried hard to change the suhject
and after dinner he went into the
kitchen and said to the girl
"IIannah, | want sweetcake
tarts, hot biscuits, raspberries ant
Clipped beef for supper"
"Yery well, sir.'
"Tll send up everything as ] g.
down.
ayes, sir"
About mid.afternoon a grocer